Pluggable terminal architecture for TAPI

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and data structures for pluggable terminals are provided. Pluggable terminals are part of client and server TAPI communications systems. Pluggable terminal allow third parties to provide their own media processing devices and implement control methods for those devices. Methods for plugging in a pluggable terminal and conducting a communications session using the new pluggable terminal are described. A data structure for a pluggable terminal type has a wrapper around a media processing device control method. A data structure for registering a pluggable terminal has a terminal class name, a unique identifier, and a set of media types supported by the pluggable terminal. A data structure for a terminal base class has an interface for plugging in a pluggable terminal and another interface for a TAPI application component.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/157,469,filed Sep. 21, 1998, entitled “Computer Telephony ApplicationProgramming Interface,” currently pending. U.S. Ser. No. 09/157,469 isincorporated herein by this reference and is not admitted to be priorart with respect to the present invention.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to computer telephony, and moreparticularly to an application programming interface for computertelephony.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE—PERMISSION

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material,which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and dataas described below and in the drawings attached hereto: Copyright ©1999, 2000, Microsoft Corporation, All Rights Reserved.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of computer networking, such as local-area networks(LAN), wide-area networks (WAN), intranets and the Internet, severalapplications have become popularized. In one such application, a user ofa first client computer is able to “call” and communicate with a user ofa second client computer. This type of application is generally known ascomputer telephony.

To accommodate computer telephony, operating systems such as versions ofthe MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating systems include telephony applicationprogramming interfaces, or TAPI's. (It is noted that TAPI typicallyrefers specifically to Microsoft's Telephony API and is not usually usedin reference to other telephony API's. However, as used in thisapplication, TAPI refers to telephony API's generically.) Applicationprogramming interfaces (API's) are interfaces by which computer programscan provide for specific functionality that is included within theoperating systems. This means that programmers developing such programsdo not have to develop their own code to provide this functionality, butrather can rely on the code within the operating system itself. Thus, aTAPI relates to a computer telephony application programming interface.

In the MICROSOFT WINDOWS 95 operating system, as well as other versionsof the MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating system, TAPI version 2.1 provides forsome basic computer telephony functionality for utilization by computerprograms. In particular, TAPI 2.1 provides for call control—theinitiation and termination of computer telephony calls. However, callcontrol is only one aspect of computer telephony. For example, once acomputer telephony call is placed, the media aspects of the call mustalso be controlled. However, TAPI 2.1, as well as other prior arttelephony API's, do not provide for this functionality.

The media aspects of the call relate to the information (or, media) thatis itself the subject of the call. For example, a voice call includesaudio information transmitted by both the caller and callee of a call, avideo call includes both audio information and visual (video)information, etc. Currently, any multimedia devices that are to be usedin conjunction with a computer telephony call—such as microphones todetect sound, and speakers to play sound—must have specific driverswritten for this purpose, to be used specifically in conjunction withcomputer telephony calls. Other multimedia devices that may be present,in other words, may not be usable in conjunction with the call.

TAPI 2.1, as well as other prior art telephony API's, are alsorepresented as a framework that is not easily expanded. For example,TAPI 2.1 is procedurally based, which means the API cannot easilyaccommodate new aspects and features without redeveloping the entireAPI. For the reasons outlined in this background, as well as otherreasons, there is, therefore, a need for the present invention.

SUMMARY

The above-identified problems, shortcomings and disadvantages with theprior art, as well as other problems, shortcoming and disadvantages, aresolved by the present invention, which will be understood by reading andstudying the specification and the drawings. In one embodiment, a systemincludes at least one call control object and at least one media controlobject. The call control objects are to initiate and terminate acomputer telephony call having a media stream. The media control objectsare to end-point the media stream of the computer telephony call. In afurther embodiment, there is also a media control manager to instantiatea media control object for each multimedia device of the system.

Thus, embodiments of the invention provide for advantages not found inthe prior art. The invention provides for well-defined media control:besides call control objects, embodiments of the invention include mediacontrol objects to end-point (for example, source or sink) the mediastream of a computer telephony call. The invention provides for theutilization of multimedia devices (including virtual devices as well asphysical devices) that may not have been installed specifically fortelephony purposes, via the media control manager instantiating mediacontrol objects for such devices. Furthermore, the invention providesfor an object-based hierarchy to TAPI's (e.g., via the call controlobjects and the media control objects), to maximize flexibility andfurther expansion of TAPI's based on the invention.

The invention includes systems, methods, computers, applicationprogramming interfaces, and computer-readable media of varying scope.Besides the embodiments, advantages and aspects of the inventiondescribed here, the invention also includes other embodiments,advantages and aspects, as will become apparent by reading and studyingthe drawings and the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of the hardware and operating environment inconjunction with which embodiments of the invention may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an object hierarchy according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an architecture according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4(a) shows a method for placing an outgoing computer telephony callaccording to an embodiment of the invention; and,

FIG. 4(b) shows a method for receiving an incoming computer telephonycall according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of two systems according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a system according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 13 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 is a structural diagram of a data structure according to oneaspect of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a structural diagram of a data structure according to oneaspect of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a process diagram of a method according to one aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 19 is a structural diagram of a data structure according to oneaspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of theinvention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form apart hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specificexemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. Theseembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical,electrical and other changes may be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the present invention. The following detaileddescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and thescope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

The detailed description is divided into five sections. In the firstsection, the hardware and the operating environment in conjunction withwhich embodiments of the invention may be practiced are described. Inthe second section, a system of one embodiment of the invention ispresented. In the third section, a method, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention, is provided. In the fourth section, varioussystem, method, and data structure embodiments of one aspect of thepresent invention, namely pluggable terminals, are described. Finally,in the fifth section, a conclusion of the detailed description isprovided.

Hardware and Operating Environment

Referring to FIG. 1, a diagram of the hardware and operating environmentin conjunction with which embodiments of the invention may be practicedis shown. The description of FIG. 1 is intended to provide a brief,general description of suitable computer hardware and a suitablecomputing environment in conjunction with which the invention may beimplemented. Although not required, the invention is described in thegeneral context of computer-executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by a computer, such as a personal computer.Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventionmay be practiced with other computer system configurations, includinghand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCS, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

The exemplary hardware and operating environment of FIG. 1 forimplementing the invention includes a general purpose computing devicein the form of a computer 20, including a processing unit 21, a systemmemory 22, and a system bus 23 that operatively couples various systemcomponents include the system memory to the processing unit 21. Theremay be only one or there may be more than one processing unit 21, suchthat the processor of computer 20 comprises a single central-processingunit (CPU), or a plurality of processing units, commonly referred to asa parallel processing environment. The computer 20 may be a conventionalcomputer, a distributed computer, or any other type of computer; theinvention is not so limited.

The system bus 23 may be any of several types of bus structuresincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memorymay also be referred to as simply the memory, and includes read onlymemory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basic input/outputsystem (BIOS) 26, containing the basic routines that help to transferinformation between elements within the computer 20, such as duringstart-up, is stored in ROM 24. The computer 20 further includes a harddisk drive 27 for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, amagnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removablemagnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from orwriting to a removable optical disk 31 such as a CD ROM or other opticalmedia.

The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, and optical disk drive30 are connected to the system bus 23 by a hard disk drive interface 32,a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and an optical disk drive interface34, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readablemedia provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 20. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any type ofcomputer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by acomputer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital videodisks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read onlymemories (ROMs), and the like, may be used in the exemplary operatingenvironment.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magneticdisk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24, or RAM 25, including an operatingsystem 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules37, and program data 38. A user may enter commands and information intothe personal computer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 andpointing device 42. Other input devices (not shown) may include amicrophone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like.These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus,but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, gameport, or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 47 or other type ofdisplay device is also connected to the system bus 23 via an interface,such as a video adapter 48. In addition to the monitor, computerstypically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such asspeakers and printers.

The computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer 49.These logical connections are achieved by a communication device coupledto or a part of the computer 20; the invention is not limited to aparticular type of communications device. The remote computer 49 may beanother computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a client, a peerdevice or other common network node, and typically includes many or allof the elements described above relative to the computer 20, althoughonly a memory storage device 50 has been illustrated in FIG. 1. Thelogical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local-area network(LAN) 51 and a wide-area network (WAN) 52. Such networking environmentsare commonplace in office networks, enterprise-wide computer networks,intranets and the Internet, which are all types of networks.

When used in a LAN-networking environment, the computer 20 is connectedto the local network 51 through a network interface or adapter 53, whichis one type of communications device. When used in a WAN-networkingenvironment, the computer 20 typically includes a modem 54, a type ofcommunications device, or any other type of communications device forestablishing communications over the wide area network 52, such as theInternet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connectedto the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computer20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storagedevice. It is appreciated that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of and communications devices for establishinga communications link between the computers may be used.

The hardware and operating environment in conjunction with whichembodiments of the invention may be practiced has been described. Thecomputer in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention may bepracticed may be a conventional computer, a distributed computer, or anyother type of computer; the invention is not so limited. Such a computertypically includes one or more processing units as its processor, and acomputer-readable medium such as a memory. The computer may also includea communications device such as a network adapter or a modem, so that itis able to communicatively couple other computers.

System

In this section of the detailed description, a description of acomputerized system according to an embodiment of the invention isprovided. The description is provided by reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.Referring first to FIG. 2, an object hierarchy according to anembodiment of the invention is shown. The system includes a telephonyapplication programming interface object (TAPI object) 200, an addressobject 202, a terminal object 204, a call object 206, and a call-hubobject 208. For each of objects 202, 204, 206 and 208, only a singleobject of each type is shown in FIG. 2 for purposes of clarity; however,there can be in one embodiment of the invention multiple instantiationsof each of these objects. Each of the objects 202, 204, 206 and 208 mayin one embodiment correspond to a specific means for performingfunctionality of the object.

The interface object 200 provides an interface by which computerprograms can access the functionality provided by these other objects.This means that the computer programs themselves do not have to includecode for this functionality, but instead can rely on the functionalityprovided by the objects themselves as already existing, and asinterfaced to such programs via the interface object 200. Applicationprogramming interfaces within operating systems such as versions of theMICROSOFT WINDOWS operating system are known within the art.

The address object 202 is a type of first-party call control object. Acall control object is an object that provides for the initiation andtermination of a computer telephony call having a media stream—that is,the object provides for the connection and ending of a call. Inparticular, the address object 202 is an object over which a computertelephony call may be placed. That is, the address object 202 representsa line or device that can make or receive calls on it. In differentembodiments of the invention, the object represents a modem attached toa PSTN (Public Switching Telephone Network) phone line, an ISDN(Integrated Services Digital Network) hardware card attached to an ISDNline, a DSL (Digital Subscriber Loop) modem attached to a PSTN phoneline having DSL capability, and an IP (Internet Protocol) address thatis able to make IP telephony calls. However, the invention is notlimited to a particular representation. The address object 202 is afirst-party call control object in that it relates to a party of thetelephony call—for example, the caller or callee of the telephonycall—as opposed to a third party not specifically of the telephony call.

The terminal object 204 is a type of media control object. A mediacontrol object is an object that end-points the media stream of acomputer telephony call. The media stream of a computer telephony callis the information that actually makes up the call—for example, audioinformation in the case of a voice call, audio and image (video)information in the case of a video call, etc. A media control objectend-points the media stream in that it can be a sink object, which is afinishing end point such as speaker or a monitor where the media streamends or is “sunk” after it has been communicated from one party to thecall to another party to the call, or a source object, which is abeginning end point such as a microphone or a speaker where the mediastream begins or is “sourced” such that it is then communicated from oneparty to the call to another party to the call. The terminal object 204can represent physical devices, such as the microphone or speakers on asound card, a video camera, and a phone, as well as more dynamic,virtual devices, such as a video window on the screen, a file to whichthe media stream is saved, and a DTMF (Dual Tone Multiple Frequency)detector.

The call object 206 is another type of first-party call control object.In particular, the call object 206 represents an end-point of thecomputer telephony call. For example, for a caller to callee directcall, there would be two call objects 206, a first object representingthe first end point of the call, and a second object representing thesecond end point of the call. In a conference call, there would be morethan two call objects 206, one object 206 for each participant (endpoint).

The call-hub object 208 is a third-party call control object. Thecall-hub object 208 relates the call objects 206 for a particularcomputer telephony call. In other words, it represents a telephonyconnection itself, and is basically a collection of call objects thatare all related because they are on the same telephony connection. Forexample, one type of call-hub object 208 is a tracking object in a callcenter environment, to track the callers on a particular call, theduration of the phone call, etc. A third-party call control object isalso able to initiate and terminate a phone call. However, the object isa third-party call control object in that it does not specificallyrelate to a particular party of the telephony call, but rather mayencompass all the parties of the call (as well as information regardingthe call).

Referring next to FIG. 3, a block diagram of an architecture accordingto one embodiment of the invention is shown. The architecture includes aTAPI application 300, the TAPI 302, a telephony server 304, a telephonyservice provider 306, a media stream provider 308, and a terminalmanager 310. The TAPI application 300 is a computer program thatutilizes the functionality provided by the TAPI 302. That is, the TAPIapplication 300 is any type of computer program that utilizes the TAPI302, through which the application is able to access telephony callcontrol and media control functionality provided by the TAPI 302.

The telephony server 304 and the telephony service provider 306 make upthe call control aspects of the architecture of FIG. 3. The telephonyserver 304 keeps track of all telephony capabilities on a givencomputerized system; for example, such as that found within versions ofthe MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT operating system. The telephone serviceprovider 306 is a component used to control a specific piece oftelephony hardware. Although only one provider 306 is shown in FIG. 3,the invention is not so limited; there can be many such providersinstalled.

The media stream provider 308 and the terminal manager 310 make up themedia control aspects of the architecture of FIG. 3. The media streamprovider 308 is an extension of the provider 306, and works togetherwith the provider 306 to implement call control (via the provider 306)and media control (via the provider 308). All call control requestsproceed through the telephony server 304 to the provider 306, and allmedia control requests proceed through to the provider 308. The mediastream provider 308 is a component used to control a specific mediastream (such as audio, video, etc.). Furthermore, there is a mediastream provider 308 for each different media stream; although only oneprovider 308 is shown in FIG. 3, the invention is not so limited—therecan be many such providers installed.

The terminal manager 310 is a media control manager. It is a componentthat instantiates a media control object for each installed multimediadevice. That is, it is a component that allows telephony applications(such as application 300) to use any multimedia device installed withina telephony environment. When the manager 310 is initialized, itdiscovers all multimedia devices that it can use that are installed on agiven computer, such as sound cards, video capture cards, as well asother multimedia hardware; the invention is not so limited. The managerthan creates a media control object, such as a terminal object, for eachof these devices. The manager 310 also creates terminal objects or mediacontrol objects for other media sources or sink that do not necessarilycorrespond to hardware, but rather to virtual devices. These types ofdevice represent media stream processing that is performed by thecomputer itself, rather than specific hardware. For example, these typesof terminals may include a video window, a speech recognition engine,and a file; the invention is not so limited.

The TAPI 302 in one embodiment has an interface that defines how theprovider 308 communicates with the terminal manager 310. This interfaceallows any provider 308 (there may be more than one provider 308,although for purposes of clarity only one is shown in FIG. 3) to querythe manager 310 for the devices that are represented as terminal ormedia control objects. The interface also allows the provider 308 todetermine from the manager 310 how to include these devices within mediastreams that the provider 308 is to set up. Therefore, the manager 310allows any provider 308 to access the same set of terminal or mediacontrol objects, and use them with any telephony hardware.

Exemplary Methods

In this section of the detailed description, exemplary methods accordingto embodiments of the invention are presented. This description isprovided in reference to FIGS. 4(a) through 4(b). These exemplarymethods are desirably realized at least in part as one or more programsrunning on a computer—that is, as a program executed from acomputer-readable medium such as a memory by a processor of a computer.The programs are desirably storable on a computer-readable medium suchas a floppy disk or a CD-ROM, for distribution and installation andexecution on another (suitably equipped) computer.

Thus, in one embodiment, a computer program is executed by a processorof a computer from a medium therefrom, where the program may includeaddress objects, call objects, terminal objects, and call-hub objects,as described in the previous section of the detailed description. Eachof these objects may in one embodiment also correspond to a specificmeans for performing the functionality of the object. In anotherembodiment, the computer program also includes a terminal manager, whichdetects a plurality of multimedia devices and instantiates a terminalobject for each multimedia device detected, as has also been describedin the previous section of the detailed description.

Referring now to FIG. 4(a), a flowchart of a method for placing anoutgoing computer telephony call, according to an embodiment of theinvention, is shown. In 400, a TAPI object is instantiated by anapplication program so that the program is able to use the functionalityprovided by the TAPI. In 402, the TAPI object is initialized. Forexample, a terminal manager is run to instantiate terminal objects forphysical and virtual multimedia devices, as has been described in theprevious section of the detailed description.

In 404, the TAPI object is queried for an enumeration of the addressobjects available from the TAPI object. Each address object has certaintelephony capabilities—for example, one may relate to an ISDN line,another to a PSTN line, etc. Thus, in 406, each address object isqueried to learn its telephony capabilities. The desired address objector objects are then selected, depending on the type of call desired(e.g., a regular voice call may go over a PSTN line, a video call may goover one or more ISDN lines, etc.).

In 408, a call object is instantiated from a desired address object orobjects. The call object thus relates to the computer performing themethod of FIG. 4(a) as being the caller for a specific computertelephony call utilizing the desired address object or objects. In 410,the desired address object or objects are queried for an enumeration ofthe terminal objects available from the address object or objects. Forexample, an address object relating to a PSTN line over which voicecalls are placed may have a terminal object relating to a microphone anda terminal object relating to a sound card connected to a speaker.Depending on the type of call desired, then, in 412 at least one desiredterminal object enumerated in 410 is selected. Finally, in 414, theoutgoing computer telephony call is connected (i.e., placed) over thedesired address object or objects utilizing the desired terminal objector objects.

Thus, placing a computer telephony call according to the embodiment ofthe invention of FIG. 4(a) involves determining the address objects thatare available such that a call may be placed over them, and selecting adesired address object or objects. A call object is created for thespecific call to be placed. The terminal objects that are available forthe utilized address objects are then determined, and the desiredterminal objects are selected. The call is then placed, such that theaddress objects represent the communication media over which the call isplaced, and the terminal objects represent the multimedia devices thatact as end points for the media stream communicated over thecommunication media.

Referring next to FIG. 4(b), a flowchart of a method for receiving anincoming computer telephony call, according to an embodiment of theinvention, is shown. In 450, a TAPI object is instantiated by anapplication program so that the program is able to use the functionalityprovided by the TAPI. In 452, the TAPI object is initialized. Forexample, a terminal manager is run to instantiate terminal objects forphysical and virtual multimedia devices, as has been described in theprevious section of the detailed description.

In 454, the TAPI object is queried for an enumeration of the addressobjects available from the TAPI object. Each address object has certaintelephony capabilities—for example, one may relate to an ISDN line,another to a PSTN line, etc. Thus, in 456, each address object isqueried to learn its telephony capabilities. The desired address objector objects are then selected, depending on the type of call that isdesired to be listened for (e.g., a regular voice call may be receivedover a PSTN line, a video call may be received over one or more ISDNlines, etc.).

In 458, an event callback is instantiated and registered on the TAPIobject. The event callback is a request by the application programperforming the method of FIG. 4(b) to have the TAPI object notify theapplication program when the desired event occurs—in this case, when anincoming call is received. In 460, the desired address object or objectsare also registered with the TAPI object. These are the address objector objects over which an incoming computer telephony call is to belisten for by the TAPI object, such that upon occurrence of such anevent, the application program performing the method of FIG. 4(b) isnotified. Thus, in 462, a notification of an incoming computer telephonycall from the TAPI object is received on the event callback. Afterreceiving notification, the available terminals are enumerated 464 andthe desired terminals are selected 466. In 468, the incoming computertelephony call is connected (i.e., received) over the desired addressobject or objects.

As has been described, receiving a computer telephony call according tothe embodiment of the invention of FIG. 4(b) involves determining theaddress objects that are available such that a call may be received overthem, and selecting a desired address object or objects. An eventcallback is created and registered, so that notification is receivedwhen a call arrives over the desired address object or objects. The callis then received (created), such that the address objects represent thecommunication media over which the call is received.

Pluggable Terminals

In the past, integrating many proprietary media processing devices intoa TAPI system was messy. Consider the plight of a user trying to getTAPI to work with many different types of proprietary media processingdevices—each with a different interface and method of operationrequiring special treatment. Also, if a user wanted to add a new mediaprocessing device defined by a third party, then the user had to eitherrevise TAPI APIs or program a private extension into a Media StreamProvider (MSP) component.

Now in TAPI 3.1, users have greater flexibility and ease with pluggableterminals. New media processing devices defined by third parties, suchas sound cards, cameras, microphones, speakers, and virtual devices, areplugged into TAPI as pluggable terminals ready to send or receivemultimedia communications. Pluggable terminals hide the detailedinformation about how the media processing device works and provide auniform interface to TAPI. Thus, TAPI uses each pluggable terminal formultimedia communications in the same way; no special treatment isnecessary. TAPI no longer needs detailed information about how eachdevice works and users no longer need to program private extensions intothe MSP component. Pluggable terminals allow TAPI to process mediagenerically, so users can easily plug in whatever new media processingthey want to do. Furthermore, once a pluggable terminal is created andplugged in, it becomes available to all users.

One aspect of the present invention is directed to systems, methods, anddata structures for pluggable terminals. Pluggable terminals are part ofclient and server TAPI communications systems. One software systemcomprises a TAPI application component for conducting at least onecommunications session and at least one pluggable terminal forprocessing media during the communications session. Another TAPIcommunications system comprises a processor, a storage device coupled tothe processor, and at least one pluggable terminal operative on theprocessor to process media during a communications session. Yet anotherTAPI communications system comprises a processor, a storage devicecoupled to the processor, and a TAPI application component operative onthe processor to select at least one pluggable terminal for acommunications session.

There are methods for plugging in and using pluggable terminals forprocessing media in a communications session. One method of plugging ina pluggable terminal comprises wrapping a media processing devicecontrol method to create a pluggable terminal type and making thepluggable terminal type available to a TAPI application component. Onemethod of using a pluggable terminal comprises plugging in the pluggableterminal, selecting a pluggable terminal from a list of availableterminals, and processing media during a communications by using amethod of the pluggable terminal.

There are several data structures associated with pluggable terminals.One pluggable terminal type data structure has a wrapper around a mediaprocessing device control method. One data structure for registering apluggable terminal has a terminal class name, a unique identifier, a setof media flow directions, and a set of media types supported by thepluggable terminal. One terminal base class data structure has aninterface for plugging in a pluggable terminal and another interface fora TAPI application component.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the TAPI architecture similar to FIG. 3,except for the addition of a pluggable terminal 512, which is shown inTelation to the rest of the architecture. A pluggable terminal 512 is atype of terminal object that allows third parties to provide their ownmedia processing devices and implement control methods for thosedevices. A terminal object represents a source or sink for media at atermination or origination point of a connection associated with a mediastream. The terminal object represents a media processing device whichmay be a hardware device, such as a telephone or microphone; a softwaredevice, such as Internet Protocol (IP) telephony software; a virtualdevice, such as a window on a computer screen; or any other devicecapable of receiving input or creating output.

In one embodiment, the pluggable terminal 512 is plugged in and madeavailable to a TAPI application component 500 to process media during acommunications session. The TAPI application component 500 is anapplication program that uses the computer telephony services providedby a TAPI component 502. Some example TAPI applications are web phones,electronic banking, videoconferencing, electronic commerce, televisionset top boxes, web gaming, handheld computing, mobile phones, and thelike. The communications session is an exchange of information over aconnection among terminals, such as an IP telephony call. Thecommunications session includes multiple simultaneous communications,such as playing music while saving it to a file.

In one embodiment, when the TAPI application component 500 initializesTAPI 502, a terminal manager component 510 creates a terminal objectbased on a pluggable terminal type associated with the pluggableterminal 512 and registers the pluggable terminal 512. The terminalmanager component 510 discovers all available terminals, including thepluggable terminal 512, and gives a list of them to the TAPI applicationcomponent 500 so that one or more may be selected for a communicationssession.

In one embodiment, once the pluggable terminal 512 is selected by theTAPI application component 500, the pluggable terminal 512 processesmedia during the communications session. A Media Stream Provider (MSP)component 508 controls the media processing and coordinates the mediaprocessing with a Telephony Service Provider (TSP) component 506. TheTSP component 506 performs call control and controls communicationsdevices. The TSP component 506 controls communications devices, such asmodems, the H323 protocol for IP telephony, specialized communicationsprotocols, and other hardware and software communications devices. ATAPI server component 504 tracks telephony resources.

FIG. 6 shows a system embodying the present invention. In oneembodiment, the system comprises a TAPI application component 600 forconducting communications sessions and one or more pluggable terminals602 for processing media during communications sessions. In oneembodiment, the system also comprises one or more TSP components 606 andone or more MSP components 604. There is a one-to-one correspondencebetween TSP components 606 and MSP components 604. A MSP component 604controls media processing in cooperation with a TSP component 606 whichperforms call control. In one embodiment, the system includes a terminalmanager component 608. The terminal manager component 608 provides theTAPI application component 600 with a list of available terminals,including the pluggable terminals 602, through an MSP component 604. TheTAPI application 600 selects a pluggable terminal 602 for acommunications session and the pluggable terminal 602 processes media toor from a media processing device.

One system embodiment, such as the system in FIG. 6, comprises softwarecomponents implemented as Common Object Model (COM) components, but thepresent invention could also be implemented as Common Object RequestBroker Architecture (CORBA) components, Remote Method Invocation (RMI)between Java objects, or some other architecture enabling pieces ofprograms, called objects, to communicate with one another regardless ofwhat programming language they were written in.

FIG. 7 shows two system embodiments of the present invention. In oneembodiment, a TAPI communications system 700 comprises one or morepluggable terminals 702 operating on a processor 704 coupled to astorage device 706, where a selected pluggable terminal 702 processesmedia during a communications session. Some examples of TAPIcommunications systems 700 are portable devices, wearable computers,tablets, handheld devices, pocket-sized personal computers and the like.In another embodiment, a TAPI application component 712, which islocated on a different processor from the pluggable terminal 702,selects a pluggable terminal 702 for a communications session. Again,the processor 714 is coupled to a storage device 716. After selectingthe pluggable terminal 702, the TAPI application component 712 conductsa communications session using the pluggable terminal 702 for mediaprocessing. One example of a TAPI communications system 710 is aninternet subscription service delivering a service to a subscriber.

FIG. 8 shows another system embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, a TAPI communications system 800 comprises a TAPIapplication component 802 and one or more pluggable terminals 804 alloperating on the same processor 806, which is coupled to a storagedevice 808. In this embodiment, the TAPI application component 802selects a pluggable terminal 804 that is located on the same processoras the TAPI application component 802 itself. One example of system 800is playing music and recording it on the same system 800.

FIG. 9 shows one method embodiment of the present invention. A method ofplugging in a pluggable terminal 900 comprises wrapping a mediaprocessing device control method to create a pluggable terminal type 902and making the pluggable terminal type available to a TAPI applicationcomponent 904. Wrapping means mapping the data structures and methods ofthe media processing device control method onto the pluggable terminaltype in a way that allows the media processing device control method tooperate as a pluggable terminal. This enables interfacing softwarecomponents, such as a TAPI application component, to handle eachpluggable terminal object using the same methods.

In one embodiment, making the pluggable terminal type available to theTAPI application component 1000 comprises the following acts shown inFIG. 10: creating a terminal object from the pluggable terminal typeupon initialization of a TAPI system 1002; registering the pluggableterminal 1004; discovering all available terminals, including thepluggable terminal 1006; and sending a list of available terminals,including,the pluggable terminal, to the TAPI application component1007.

In one embodiment, wrapping the media processing device control method1100 comprises the following acts shown in FIG. 11: deriving thepluggable terminal type from a terminal base class 1102; providing afirst interface for plugging into a TAPI system 1104; and providing asecond interface including at least one media processing method for theTAPI application component 1106.

FIG. 12 shows a list of some media types 1202 processed by the mediaprocessing methods. In one method embodiment, providing a secondinterface, including at least one media processing method for the TAPIapplication component 1106, comprises: providing at least one mediaprocessing method for processing media selected from the list of mediatypes 1200. The media types include, but are not limited to, thefollowing groups:

-   -   1. Audio, video, text, and graphics;    -   2. Modem transmissions, facsimile transmissions, and telephony        transmissions;    -   3. Videoconferencing transmissions, co-browsing transmissions,        application sharing transmissions, document sharing        transmissions, and collaborative computing transmissions;    -   4. Chat transmissions, visual chat transmissions, IP telephony        transmissions, and instant messaging transmissions;    -   5. PSTN calls, tone transmissions, speech transmissions, IP        interactive voice response system transmissions, IP unified        message system transmissions, and caller identification        transmissions;    -   6. Music, movies, still pictures, and photographs;    -   7. Radio transmissions, television transmissions, and cable        transmissions;    -   8. Portable device transmissions, wearable computer        transmissions, tablet transmissions, handheld device        transmissions, and pocket-sized personal computer transmissions;        and    -   9. Digital phone calls and cellular phone calls.        The invention is not limited to a method of processing media        from any one group.

FIG. 13 shows a method embodiment of the present invention. A method ofplugging in a pluggable terminal 1300 comprises: creating the mediaprocessing device control method 1302; wrapping a media processingdevice control method to create a pluggable terminal type; 1304; andmaking the pluggable terminal type available to a TAPI applicationcomponent 1306. One way to create a media processing device controlmethod is to implement a Microsoft® DirectShow® filter as a driver forthe device. In an example embodiment, a hardware vendor creates methodsfor controlling a media processing device including media streamingmethods matching the capabilities of at least one MSP component usingMicrosoft® DirectShow® filters. Microsoft® DirectShow® services provideplayback multimedia streams from local files or Internet servers andcapture of multimedia streams from devices. At the heart of theMicrosoft® DirectShow® services is a modular system of pluggablecomponents called filters, arranged in a configuration called a filtergraph. A component called the filter graph manager oversees theconnection of these filters and controls the stream's data flow. Theinvention is not limited to creating a media processing device controlmethod using Microsoft® DirectShow® filters and other methods may beused.

FIG. 14 shows a method embodiment of the present invention. A method ofusing a pluggable terminal 1400 comprises: plugging in the pluggableterminal 1402; selecting a pluggable terminal from a list of availableterminals for a communications session 1404; and processing media duringthe communications session by performing at least one method of mediaprocessing in the pluggable terminal 1406. In one embodiment, pluggingin the pluggable terminal 1402 comprises making the pluggable terminalavailable to a TAPI application component.

In one method embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 15,selecting the pluggable terminal from the list of available terminalsfor a communications session 1500 comprises: requesting a list ofavailable terminals 1502; discovering all available terminals, includingthe pluggable terminal 1504; listing all available terminals 1506;selecting the pluggable terminal from the list of available terminals1508; and creating a terminal object from a pluggable terminal typeassociated with the selected pluggable terminal 1510. In anotherembodiment, the method 1500 also includes controlling media processing1512 and coordinating media processing with call control 1514.

FIG. 16 shows a data structure embodiment of the present invention. Acomputer-readable medium has a data structure for registering apluggable terminal 1600. In one embodiment, the data structure comprisesa terminal class name 1602, a unique identifier 1604 for the pluggableterminal, a set of media flow directions 1606, and a set of media types1608. The terminal class name 1602 identifies a terminal class that thepluggable terminal belongs to. For example, a terminal manager componentimplements a pluggable terminal as a terminal object from the pluggableterminal type or class associated with the pluggable terminal. Mediaflow directions indicate whether media flows to the pluggable terminal,from the pluggable terminal, or both. The set of media flow directions1606 includes those directions supported by the pluggable terminal. Theset of media types includes those media types supported by the pluggableterminal. In one embodiment, the media types supported by the pluggableterminal are selected from at least nine different groups of information1608:

-   -   1. Audio, video, text, and graphics;    -   2. Modem transmissions, facsimile transmissions, and telephony        transmissions;    -   3. Videoconferencing transmissions, co-browsing transmissions,        application sharing transmissions, document sharing        transmissions, and collaborative computing transmissions;    -   4. Chat transmissions, visual chat transmissions, IP telephony        transmissions, and instant messaging transmissions;    -   5. PSTN calls, tone transmissions, speech transmissions, IP        interactive voice response system transmissions, IP unified        message system transmissions, and caller identification        transmissions;    -   6. Music, movies, still pictures, and photographs;    -   7. Radio transmissions, television transmissions, and cable        transmissions;    -   8. Portable device transmissions, wearable computer        transmissions, tablet transmissions, handheld device        transmissions, and pocket-sized personal computer transmissions;        and    -   9. Digital phone calls and cellular phone calls.        The invention is not limited to selecting media types from any        one group for a data structure for registering a pluggable        terminal.

In another embodiment, the data structure for registering a pluggableterminal 1600 has these additional fields: a name for the pluggableterminal 1610, a company name identifying the company that made the newpluggable terminal 1612, and a version for the new pluggable terminal1614. In another embodiment, the data structure 1600 also includes amethod for registering itself 1616. In a further embodiment, the datastructure 1600 also includes a method for firing events to a terminalmanager component 1618. However, the method 1618 is not limited to anevent mechanism and may also be a method of callbacks or any othermethod for signaling events among components.

FIG. 17 shows a data structure embodiment of the present invention. Apluggable terminal type data structure 1700 comprises a media processingdevice control method 1702 and a wrapper around the media processingdevice control method 1704. In one embodiment, the wrapper comprises: afirst interface for plugging in the pluggable terminal 1706; a secondinterface 1708 including at least one media processing method for a TAPIapplication component 1710; and at least one method for controlling themedia processing device 1712.

In one embodiment shown in FIG. 18, the pluggable terminal type datastructure 1700 has one or more methods for controlling a mediaprocessing device 1800, where the device supports a media type selectedfrom one of the following groups 1802:

-   -   1. Audio, video, text, and graphics;    -   2. Modem transmissions, facsimile transmissions, and telephony        transmissions;    -   3. Videoconferencing transmissions, co-browsing transmissions,        application sharing transmissions, document sharing        transmissions, and collaborative computing transmissions;    -   4. Chat transmissions, visual chat transmissions, IP telephony        transmissions, and instant messaging transmissions;    -   5. PSTN calls, tone transmissions, speech transmissions, IP        interactive voice response system transmissions, IP unified        message system transmissions, and caller identification        transmissions;    -   6. Music, movies, still pictures, and photographs;    -   7. Radio transmissions, television transmissions, and cable        transmissions;    -   8. Portable device transmissions, wearable computer        transmissions, tablet transmissions, handheld device        transmissions, and pocket-sized personal computer transmissions;        and    -   9. Digital phone calls and cellular phone calls.        The invention is not limited to selecting a media type from any        one group.

FIG. 19 shows a terminal base class data structure 1900 comprising afirst interface for plugging in a pluggable terminal 1902 and a secondinterface for a TAPI application component 1904. In one embodiment, apluggable terminal type is derived from a terminal base class.

The following example shows how to create a pluggable terminal for a newaudio file format. In an example embodiment, a hardware vendor figuresout how the audio file format fits into DirectShow®, creates filtersusing DirectShow®, wraps the audio file format processing methods as apluggable terminal, and then plugs it into the TAPI system.

The following example shows how to leverage existing media processingcode. In an example embodiment, a TAPI application developer, who istransitioning applications from TAPI version 2 to TAPI version 3 and,therefore, has existing code manipulating media streams directly, wrapsthat code in a pluggable terminal and then plugs it into the TAPIsystem.

The following example shows how pluggable terminals are createdautomatically by a TAPI system. In an example embodiment, a terminalmanager component uses DirectShow® to find all multimedia devicespresent on a computer and then creates pluggable terminals correspondingto each multimedia device. For example, a wave device is wrapped as apluggable terminal.

In an example embodiment, a TAPI application component selects specificpluggable terminals to use on a computer telephony call. In anotherexample embodiment, a TAPI application component selects specificpluggable terminals to use on a call based on the media processingrequired for a communications session. In another example embodiment, anaddress object finds out which existing pluggable terminals are owned bythe address object and can be used on a call, before a TAPI applicationprogram selects them. In another example embodiment, a TAPI applicationcomponent creates multiple instances of a pluggable terminal and theinstances are used on two computer telephony calls at the same time.Some examples of multiple instances are pluggable terminals for files,Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) detection and generation pluggableterminals, and video window pluggable terminals. In another exampleembodiment, a pluggable terminal is a media streaming terminal that letsa TAPI application component read and write directly to a media stream.

CONCLUSION

Computer telephony application programming interface has been described.Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose maybe substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application isintended to cover any adaptations or variations of the presentinvention. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that this invention belimited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof.

1-50. (canceled)
 51. A method of manipulating a telephony media streamcomprising: selecting a media processing device to use with a mediastream associated with a telephony call; and invoking a terminal objectthat provides a uniform interface to a telephony application formanipulating the media stream, wherein the terminal object maps requeststo the uniform interface to requests to a device-specific interface forthe selected media processing device.
 52. The method of claim 51 whereinthe device is a virtual device.
 53. The method of claim 51 wherein thedevice is a modular media filter not specifically for telephonyapplications.
 54. The method of claim 51 wherein the terminal object iscreated automatically by enumerating available devices and instantiatinga terminal object for each enumerated device.
 55. The method of claim 51wherein the terminal object is a sink object.
 56. The method of claim 51including registering the terminal object and providing the terminalobject in a list of available terminal objects.
 57. The method of claim51 including coordinating manipulation of the media stream with controlof the call.
 58. A computer-readable medium containing instructions forperforming a method of manipulating a telephony media stream, the methodcomprising: enumerating a list of available media processing devices;selecting a media processing device from the list of available mediaprocessing devices to use with a media stream associated with atelephony call; and invoking a terminal object that provides a uniforminterface to a telephony application for manipulating the media stream,wherein the terminal object maps requests to the uniform interface torequests to a device-specific interface for the selected mediaprocessing device.
 59. The method of claim 58 wherein the device is aphysical device.
 60. The method of claim 58 wherein the device is avirtual device.
 61. The method of claim 58 wherein the device is amodular media filter not specifically for telephony applications. 62.The method of claim 58 wherein the device is legacy application codeusing direct media stream manipulation.
 63. The method of claim 58wherein the terminal object signals events to the telephony application.64. The method of claim 58 wherein the terminal object is a sink object.65. The method of claim 58 wherein the terminal object is a sourceobject.
 66. The method of claim 58 wherein the terminal object isprovided separate from the telephony application.
 67. The method ofclaim 58 wherein the terminal object derives from a terminal base class.68. The method of claim 58 including coordinating manipulation of themedia stream with control of the call.
 69. The method of claim 58wherein the device is at least one of a microphone, speaker, camera,monitor, video window, speech recognition engine, interactive voiceresponse system, or file.
 70. A method of exposing a media processingdevice comprising: providing a terminal object that provides a uniforminterface to a telephony application for manipulating a media streamassociated with a telephony call, wherein the terminal object mapsrequests to the uniform interface to requests to a device-specificinterface for the media processing device; and registering the terminalobject with a terminal manager which provides a list of availableterminal objects.